2007 Sustainability Conference Recap

In addition to receiving multiple Best Practice Awards and Honorable Mentions at the 6th Annual UC, CSU, CCC Sustainability Conference, UC Berkeley representatives gave presentations in nearly all of the session tracks.

Among the UC Berkeley presentations, the most high profile was "The Making of UC Berkeley's Climate Action Plan," given by the leaders of the Cal Climate Action Partnership (CalCAP) Steering Committee.

This presentation detailed the process of creating Cal's groundbreaking greenhouse gas emission reduction Feasibility Study.

CalCAP Presentation:

The Making of UC Berkeley’s Climate Action Plan

Download presentation (coming soon)

On April 27, 2007, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau committed the campus to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by year 2014. This commitment and the Feasibility Study which informed it set the table for similar commitments at other campuses.

Presented by:

Catherine Koshland
Ph.D., Vice Provost Academic Planning and Facilities, UC Berkeley
Ms. Koshland is the Wood-Calvert Professor in Engineering, and a Professor in Energy and Resources and in Public Health at UC, Berkeley. As Vice-provost, she is responsible for academic planning including facilities planning, oversees summer sessions and university extension and the campus’s strategic academic initiatives. Her research is at the intersection of health, energy and the environment. Professor Koshland graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from Haverford College, and received her MS in 1978 and her Ph.D. in 1985 in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. She chairs the CalCAP Steering Committee.

Nathan Brostrom
Vice Chancellor Administration, UC Berkeley
Mr. Brostrom is responsible for managing the campus’s annual operating budget of more than $1.6 billion. Prior to UC Berkeley, he served as a Managing Director for JP Morgan, leading an $11.3 billion energy bond program that repaid the state general fund which had been drained by the 2000-2001 California energy crisis. Vice Chancellor Brostrom graduated from Stanford University and holds a master’s degree in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University.

Fahmida Ahmed
Sustainability Specialist, UC Berkeley
Fahmida Ahmed manages the Cal Climate Action Partnership (CalCAP) program at UC Berkeley. She worked for the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Ms. Ahmed graduated from Smith College and holds a master’s degree in Public Environmental Management with a specialization in Climate Change Policy from the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara.

Other Presentations and Presenters

Lighting Session – presentation (coming soon) by:

Desirae Early
Student, Environmental Economics and Policy, UC Berkeley
Desirae Early is an environmental economics and policy major at the UC, Berkeley. During her three years with the Green Campus Program, Desirae initiated several energy conservation and education projects on campus. She is a founding member of the Green Room Committee which created the award-winning Green Room, Green Apartment, and Green Suite, projects that demonstrate environmentally-friendly living for college students. Desirae also coordinated the Global Environment Theme House for the past two years.

Energy Efficiency Partnership Program: Best Practice Awardees – presentation (coming soon) by:

Paul Black
Manager, Utility Engineering, UC Berkeley
Paul has held various positions related to utilities and energy conservation since joining the campus in 1978. Over the last 2 years, Paul and his group have implemented lighting and HVAC efficiency measures resulting in an annual reduction of over 3 million kilowatt hours. Paul is a graduate of the Mechanical Engineering program at the State University of New York at Buffalo and is a registered professional engineer in California.

Steps Toward Integrating Sustainability in Campus Dining Services – presentation (coming soon) by:

Ida Shen
Interim Assistant Director, Executive Chef, Cal Dining, UC Berkeley
Ida was hired as an executive chef for Clark Kerr’s residence hall dining location at UC Berkeley in 2004 and was promoted to her current position in 2006. Ida is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy (1994). She studied in France at L’Ecole des Arts Culinares et de l’Hotelliere de Lyon, earning the Sodexho Scholarship to fund the attendance leading to her Cuisine & Culture Certificate (1995). Ida has won numerous awards and competitions, including several ACF medals.

LEED CI Case Studies – presentation (coming soon) by:

Judy Chess
LEED AP, Manager for Green Building Programs, UC Berkeley
Judy Chess is the manager for Green Building Programs for UC Berkeley, where she has worked since 1988. After working at the campus in various areas, including master planning, CEQA compliance, disabled access, and historic preservation, she now develops implementation practices to meet campus green building and energy conservation goals. A recent chair of the Berkeley Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability, she has most recently been working to identify and fund campus energy efficiency projects. Ms. Chess holds a Master’s in Landscape Architecture and City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley.

Chancellor’s Sustainability Committees – presentation (coming soon) by:

Mark Freiberg
Director, Office of Environment, Health and Safety, UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley EH&S Director Mark Freiberg received his bachelor’s degree from UC Davis in Environmental Toxicology. He obtained his master’s degree in Environmental Chemistry from the same school, where his research focused on the fate of pesticides in the environment. After working for 10 years with a commercial hazardous waste management firm, Mr. Freiberg joined UC Berkeley’s EH&S Office as the manager of Health & Safety. In 2002, he became the director of the office. Mark is also serving as the 2007 staff co-chair of the Berkeley Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Sustainability (CACS).

Best Practice Sessions in Construction and Demolition Waste – presentation by:

Jonathan Wright

Jonathan Wright recently graduated with distinction from UC Berkeley with a major in Environmental Sciences and a minor in Forestry. He has managed Re-USE Campus Materials Exchange for three years. During this time, he has successfully developed localized materials exchanges and initiated an annual clothing sale using materials collected from the residence halls. Jonathan is currently overseeing waste diversion in a demolition project on campus and has been hired as a student intern to help with green classroom renovations in 5 campus buildings.

Student Government – presentation by:

Becca Jones
Student, Materials Science, UC Berkeley
Becca Jones is a fourth-year graduate student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at UC Berkeley focusing on new materials for solar cells. Becca helped to start several environmental organizations at Berkeley, including Students for a Greener Berkeley, the Environmental Sustainability Committee of the Graduate Assembly, and the Steering Committee for The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) referendum.

Residential Life and First Year Experience – presentation (coming soon) by:

Laura Moreno
Student, Microbial Biology, Conservation and Resource Studies, UC Berkeley
Laura Moreno is a third year student at UC Berkeley and is double majoring in Microbial Biology and Conservation and Resource Studies. She has been involved with the Residential Sustainability Education Coordinator (RSEC) Program for 3 years, coordinating a peer-to-peer education program that focuses on incorporating sustainability into students’ lives. She is also a member of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability (CACS) and co-chair for the 2007-08 academic year.

Robert Oehler
Director, Housing, Operations, Maintenance and Environment, UC Berkeley
Robert Oehler is the Director of Housing Operations Maintenance and Environment responsible for all housing facilities and operations at UC Berkeley. He currently serves on the UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability (CACS), the UC Berkeley RSSP, Green Committee and is a sponsor for Residential Sustainability Education (RSEC) program. He was formerly a co-sustainability coordinator at UC Merced and is LEED trained in New Construction (NC) and Existing Buildings (EB).

Moderators

Matthew St.Clair
LEED AP, Sustainability Manager, UC Office of the President
Mr. St.Clair is a founding member of the Board of Directors for the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Mr. St.Clair has worked on international campaigns for Friends of the Earth Czech Republic and on renewable energy policy research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He also serves on the Chancellor’s Advisory Committees on Sustainability (CACS) at UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, and UC Santa Cruz. He has an MA in Environmental Policy from UC Berkeley and a BA in Economics from Swarthmore College.

Lila Mauro
Director, Business Services, UC Berkeley
Lila Mauro has been with UC Berkeley for almost 3 years and is currently the Director of Business Services for the Berkeley Campus. Responsibility areas include Procurement Services, Business Contracts, and Property Management. Before coming to Berkeley, she was a supply chain manager at Agilent Technologies. Lila received her B.A. in Liberal Studies from Humboldt State University and her M.B.A. from the University of New Mexico; she carries the industry credential of Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.).

Lisa Bauer
Manager, Campus Recycling and Refuse Services, UC Berkeley
Lisa Bauer has been involved in the recycling and solid waste field for the last 18 years, and in sustainability activities for the last 6 years. She has been the Campus Recycling and Refuse Manager at UC Berkeley for the last 10 years, and in addition to her day job, has co-chaired the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability (CACS) and co-teaches several classes each year on environmental sustainability.

Ben Allen
Student, Boalt Hall School of Law, UC Berkeley
Ben received his BA, magna cum laude, in history from Harvard University and his MA in Latin American Studies from Cambridge University. Mr. Allen worked on development projects in Latin America for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, as a community organizer for LA Unified School District, and then as Communications Director for Congressman José Serrano. In the summer of 2006, he was a judicial clerk at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Africa. He is a Senior Fellow with the international human rights organization Humanity In Action, and he volunteers at the La Raza Workers’ Rights Clinic in Oakland. Mr. Allen was appointed in July 2006 by The Regents to serve as the student Regent for a one-year term beginning July 1, 2007.